Marius Watz - Thoughts on Code and Art

Book: NEW ART/SCIENCE AFFINITIES

Published by the CMU STUDIO for Creative Inquiry and the Miller Gallery, “NEW ART/SCIENCE AFFINITIES” is a new book created in a “book sprint” by some interesting thinkers on the intersection between art and science. I’m pleased to say that it features myself as well as a slew of people one should be honored to be in the company of. The free PDF option is a welcome gesture.

In their own words:

The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University and the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry have co-published “New Art/Science Affinities,” a 190-page book on contemporary artists that was written and designed in one week by four authors (Andrea Grover, Régine Debatty, Claire Evans and Pablo Garcia) and two designers (Luke Bulman and Jessica Young of Thumb).

“New Art/Science Affinities,” which focuses on artists working at the intersection of art, science and technology, was produced by a collaborative authoring process known as a “book sprint.” Derived from “code sprinting,” a method in which software developers gather in a single room to work intensely on an open source project for a certain period of time, the term book sprint describes the quick, collective writing of a topical book.

The book includes meditations, interviews, diagrams, letters and manifestos on maker culture, hacking, artist research, distributed creativity, and technological and speculative design. Chapters include Program Art or Be Programmed, Subvert! Citizen Science, Artists in White Coats and Latex Gloves, The Maker Moment and The Overview Effect.

Sixty international artists and art collaboratives are featured, including Agnes Meyer-Brandis, Atelier Van Lieshout, Brandon Ballengée, Free Art and Technology (F.A.T.), Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, The Institute for Figuring, Aaron Koblin, Machine Project, Openframeworks, C.E.B. Reas, Philip Ross, Tomás Saraceno, SymbioticA, Jer Thorp, and Marius Watz.</div>

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“New Art/Science Affinities” (2011, 8.5x11 inches, 190 pages, perfect-bound paperback, 232 full-color illustrations) is available for purchase ($45.75) through print-on-demand service Lulu, or for free download via the Miller Gallery website (http://www.cmu.edu/millergallery/nasabook).

Things I’ve learned from disagreeing about (Media) Art on the Internet

1. Don’t do it. Count to 10. Read XKCD. Don’t do it.
2. Art is more fun to make than talk about. If you’re an artist you’re better off working. It’s not like there are enough hours in the day.
3. If you must discuss art, do it only with people you 90% agree with. It’s more productive that way.
4. Being pragmatic rarely pays off in a debate. Who cares that you might be right?
5. Never try to explain why you don’t give away the source code to all your projects. You will look like a selfish dick, and it’ll make you want to quit making art altogether.
6. Never discuss making a living from art. You will be seen as a money-grubbing capitalist without ideals. Art is the only job where people expect you not to worry about your living standards or having a sustainable economy.
7. People who aren’t artists generally expect artists to be principled and noble, even if it means going hungry and not being able to have health insurance.
8. Articulating a well-reasoned argument in written form takes a minimum of an hour. Think of the things that could have been accomplished in that hour.
9. Net art 2.0 is a lot of fun. I haven’t seen so much nihilism since highschool. Also, there are kittenz.
10. Discussing art over a beer in a bar or at home is a Good Thing. Discussing art on the Internet while drinking a beer is a Bad Thing.
11. Don’t do it. It won’t make anyone like you more, and it’s likely to make you enjoy art less.